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SUN PHOTO/RUSTY CHINNIS
Captain Tom Van Horn and Captain Rodney Smith show
a black drum caught by Rusty Chinnis before it was
released back to the lagoon.

By Rusty Chinnis
sun staff writerOne of the pleasures of fishing, and in particular,
fly fishing, is the quality of the friends we meet. Fly
fishing seems to attract anglers who have interesting
lives, who are committed, and give back more than they
receive. Recently, I had the pleasure of reacquainting
with a friend I met through fishing and meeting a new
friend when I spent a day on the water at the Kennedy
Space Center with Captain Rodney Smith and Captain Ton
Van Horn.

I first met Captain Rodney Smith at a Florida Outdoor
Writers meeting, but we later solidified our friendship
at a Cotee Outdoor Writers Outing on Pigeon Key
near Marathon. Over the years weve stayed in touch,
fished on occasion and recently talked about fishing the
no-motor zone at the Kennedy Space Center. Smith and his
wife, Karen, are building something of a fishing dynasty
on the Indian River Lagoon near their home in Satellite
Beach. Besides raising four children, this dynamic duo
somehow found the time to run a successful guiding business,
publish a popular fishing magazine, Coastal Angler
Magazine; publish a book, Fishing Made Easy;
hold seminars; conduct kids fishing clinics; champion
conservation causes and much more. A few years back, the
Smiths decided to end Rodneys guiding business so
they could concentrate on their burgeoning publishing
business. Their grasp of the areas fishing opportunities
and their stewardship of the local resources attracted
the attention of Tom Van Horn.

Initially Van Horn approached Smith at a Shallow Water
Fishing Expo and announced that he was going to become
a guide. He wanted to learn the ropes and learning from
Smith was part of his business plan. The two fished together
and Smith was so impressed with his organized method that
he hired Van Horn to work for Coastal Angler Magazine.

Van Horn is also a fireman at the Kennedy Space Center,
a job that allows him direct access to the No-Motor Zone,
where he is only allowed to take friends and relatives.
On his charters, he still fishes this magical area but
is required to paddle in from the south like the other
guides and anglers who frequent the area.

We had talked about this trip for a couple of years and
the day we managed to make it happen, a front was looming
and the day dawned with leaden skies. We launched a canoe
and a kayak on a causeway near an old vehicle assembly
plant and paddled to the south along a shallow flat thick
with Turtle grass. The visibility was difficult in the
morning and never any got better as the day progressed.
Fortunately, the wind never blew more than 15 miles an
hour and after spending the first hours hunting for fish
our luck began to change. We had seen what appeared to
be a school of redfish earlier in the day, so we returned
to the area later in the morning and managed to catch
several redfish by tracking their wakes on the shallow
flat. In the afternoon after lunch we fished back to the
north and began to spook large fish that Van Horn thought
might be black drum. The area is famous for these large
cousins of redfish, so we slowed our progress and paid
special attention to the edge where the long grass flat
met deeper water. As I was scanning the horizon, Van Horn
tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out a school of
tailing black drum that were working their way towards
us. I raised my rod in anticipation of making a cast but
my guide wisely suggested that I wade to the fish. We
paddled the canoe 50 yards up the flat, staked out and
got into the water.

I had been coached by Smith and Van Horn on the special
technique needed to get black drum to take a fly. I stationed
myself in their path and when they were about 50 feet
away, I made a cast into their path, letting the fly sink
to the grass. I then waited until they were over the fly
and watched my fly line carefully. Suddenly, I noticed
an almost imperceptible movement of the line and made
a short strip strike. The line came tight and a 20-pound
drum actually surfed to the surface on its side before
bolting for deeper water. I fought the fish with just
enough pressure to tire it, making sure the small black
crab fly I was using didnt pull loose. In ten minutes
we had the drum at hand and I took several pictures of
Smith and Van Horn before we released it back to the lagoon.
We got a few more shots that afternoon, but decided to
head to the ocean to see if there were any opportunities
in the surf. The tide was low and although we didnt
spend much time actually fishing we enjoyed the expansive
Atlantic coast that was devoid of people. In the distance
we could see the launch pads of several new generation
rockets and Van Horn acted as a tour guide showing us
where some of Americas most ambitious space attempts
were launched.

Captain Tom Van Horn fishes the Space Coast 12 months
a year and has extensive knowledge of the varied fishing
opportunity it holds. For more information or to book
a trip, call Van Horn toll free at 866-790-8081. Check
out his web site at www.irl-fishing.com. Captain Rodney
Smiths web site has a wealth of information on the
Space Coast. Check it out at www.camirl.com